In a departure for WA governors, Ferguson avoids news conferences; New graffiti-battling drone deemed ‘very effective’ in WSDOT report

In a departure for WA governors, Ferguson avoids news conferences

The Seattle Times — While Ferguson has stayed comparatively aloof, legislative leaders from both parties have continued to hold weekly news conferences to talk about various legislative proposals. House Speaker Laurie Jinkins, D-Tacoma, did not comment directly on Ferguson’s approach, but said she views taking questions as valuable — even when she’s taken heat from the media on issues such as lawmakers asserting a new “legislative privilege” to withhold public records. “So I find the engagements useful, if not sometimes irritating,” she said. $

New graffiti-battling drone deemed ‘very effective’ in WSDOT report

KOMO TV — According to new report from the Washington Department of Transportation (WSDOT), two pilot programs have been successful in helping to prevent graffiti, as well as helping to cover up graffiti. The first pilot program involves drones. As KOMO reported in April 2024, WSDOT in Tacoma started testing drone technology to see if the devices were capable of removing graffiti from hard-to-reach places. At the time, WSDOT workers hoped the drones could make quick work of painting over graffiti on tall retaining walls, bridges, and overpasses. Money for the technology was budgeted through a house bill approved by Washington’s legislature in the 2024 session.

THE CURRENT | A WASHINGTON HOUSE REPUBLICAN EMAIL UPDATE

• Better schools and parental rights | Feb. 8, 2025

AGRICULTURE

• How farmworkers in Washington state got lawmakers’ attention (KNKX Radio)
• Relief for farmers and apple growers in HB 1912 and HB 1597 (KPQ Radio)

BUSINESS, ECONOMY & LABOR

• The push to allow neighborhood stores and cafes across Washington (Axios – Seattle)
• Washington legislature considers strengthening youth labor laws (Cascade PBS)
• Two bills to limit layoffs and offshoring (The Washington Observer) $
• Seattle restaurants get creative to make numbers work after wage hike (The Seattle Times) $
• ‘It never seems to be enough’: Clark County residents earning a bit over minimum wage struggle to pay bills, stave off homelessness (The Columbian) $
• OPINION: How we can make WA more resilient for the next Trump trade storm (Stephanie Bowman, served on the Port of Seattle Commission for eight years and is founding member of the Northwest Seaport Alliance/The Seattle Times) $

COMMUNITY & FAMILY ISSUES

• Proposal for 70-foot cross overlooking Leavenworth causing a stir (MyNorthwest)
• OPINION: Legislators have unique opportunity to help prepare for the ‘silver tsunami’ (Sen. John Braun/The Chronicle)

CONGRESS

• Patty Murray: RFK Jr. meeting was most troubling she’s had in 32 years (The Seattle Times) $

CORRECTIONS & JAILS

• WA lawmaker offers bill to protect inmates from transgender assault (The Center Square)

COURTS (FEDERAL)

• Supreme Court that Trump helped shape could have the last word on his aggressive executive orders (AP)

COURTS (STATE)

• Washington state courts slow in vacating hundreds of thousands of illegal drug convictions (Investigate West/Oregon Public Broadcasting)
• Supreme Court: DCYF broadly protected in Rustin Atkerson death case (The Wenatchee World) $
• Husband of woman killed by driver fleeing Pierce County deputies speaks at sentencing (The News Tribune) $

CRIME & PUBLIC SAFETY

• Funding for crime victim services in Washington is running short (Washington State Standard)
• Washington sees drop in car thefts (KNDO/KNDU)
• 2 arrested as hundreds march at ‘Protest Against ICE’ in Seattle (The Seattle Times) $

DAMS

• Agencies extend comment period for Columbia River review re-do (Capital Press) $

EARLY LEARNING

• Outdoor preschool could be good for the mind — and the gut (The Seattle Times) $

EDUCATION

• Seattle Public Schools seeks $60 million from state to prevent budget cuts (The Seattle Times) $
• Most high school students don’t get 8 hours of sleep on school nights (The Washington Post/The Seattle Times) $

ENERGY & UTILITIES

• 1,500 Tri-Cities nuclear fuel jobs on the line as lawmakers revisit property tax breaks (Tri-City Herald) $
• Apprenticeships in Washington propel young adults into clean energy jobs (KING TV)

ENVIRONMENT

• Are WA Democrats really considering a ban on wood-burning fireplaces and wood stoves? (The News Tribune) $
• Washington lawmakers mull methane minutiae (Capital Press) $
• State Ecology moving ahead with $27 million cleanup at contaminated Bellingham shipyard (The Bellingham Herald) $

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT & THE WHITE HOUSE

• Judge blocks Trump from placing thousands of USAID workers on leave and giving them 30-day deadline (AP)
• OPINION: I’m a humanitarian aid worker. Here’s what gutting USAID will do (Andrea Hidalgo, education consultant in humanitarian aid/The Seattle Times) $
• EDITORIAL: As Trump and Musk tear through democracy, we can’t just stand by (The Seattle Times) $

FISH

• Tribes: State fish passage projects knock down barriers for local efforts (The Everett Herald) $

HEALTH CARE & HOSPITALS

• Everett lawmakers back universal health care bill, introduced in Olympia (The Everett Herald) $
• ‘No Room’: Washington hospitals overwhelmed by ‘worst flu season since 2009′ (KIRO TV)
• Many medical providers end transgender youth procedures after Trump order (The Center Square)
• Washington sues to stop ban on funding for gender-affirming care (Cascade PBS)
• Demonstrators demand Seattle Children’s resume gender-affirming surgeries (KING TV)

HIGHER EDUCATION

• WSU’s next president Elizabeth Cantwell talks Pac-12, DEI and handling the Trump administration (The Spokesman-Review) $
• New WSU president wants to expand access to higher education (The Seattle Times) $
• COLUMN: After another hate rally, the Trump admin must investigate antisemitism at University of Washington (Jason Rantz/MyNorthwest)

HOMELESSNESS

• Bellingham’s winter shelter causing ‘disruption’ for surrounding neighborhood, residents say (The Bellingham Herald) $

IMMIGRATION

• King County joins lawsuit against Trump administration over sanctuary city orders (KUOW Radio)
• ICE fears sweep WA’s Yakima Valley after Trump takes office (The Seattle Times) $
• ‘Here in Sunnyside, it’s important.’ Community members rally to support immigrants (Yakima Herald-Republic) $
• EDITORIAL: Message at Yakima rally was loud, clear — and civil (Yakima Herald-Republic) $
• EDITORIAL: Supporting the immigrant community, upholding public safety (Walla Walla Union-Bulletin) $

LAW ENFORCEMENT

• Seattle revisits police force rules for crowd control (Axios – Seattle)
• SPD lawsuits pile up as lieutenant alleges retaliation (The Seattle Times) $
• Washington State Patrol to lead investigation of deadly police shooting in Yakima (Daily Record) $

LEGISLATURE

• Washington Senate passes changes to parental rights in education (KAPP/KVEW)
• Bill to make clergy report child abuse advances in Washington (Washington State Standard)
• In Session: Clergy would have to report abuse, neglect under proposal (KING TV)
• Washington state Senate votes to officially adopt century-old nickname the “Evergreen State” (The Chronicle)
• Look inside the modern new structure on the Capitol Campus: Irving R. Newhouse Building (The Olympian) $
• BLOG: Holding the line: An interview with GOP Rep. Drew Stokesbary on fiscal responsibility and Olympia’s power struggles (Shift)

LOCAL GOVERNMENT

• Former Thurston County road workers accuse leadership of creating toxic work environment (The Olympian) $

MEDIA

• Cyberattack disrupts publication of Lee newspapers across the U.S. (The New York Times/The Seattle Times) $
• COLUMN: Challenging year ahead for local newspaper publishers (Brier Dudley/The Seattle Times) $

MILITARY & VETERANS

• WA eyes keeping out other states’ National Guard (Stateline.org/The Columbian) $
• Seattle organization sues Trump over transgender military service ban (The Seattle Times) $
• EDITORIAL: Trump’s firing of Coast Guard leader is no way to treat a public servant (The Seattle Times) $

OTHER STATES

• Oregon’s near-worst-in-nation education outcomes prompt a reckoning on school spending (The Oregonian) $

PARKS

• Murray, Cantwell among senators sounding the alarm on national park staffing decisions (The Spokesman-Review) $

SCHOOL SAFETY

• Student writers to tackle school safety, security in new series (The Seattle Times) $
• Nicotine in schools is a rising concern; what are Clark County districts doing to stop it? (The Columbian) $

SPORTS

• Washington lawmakers consider bill for Seahawks fans’ day (KNDO/KNDU)
• Future of transgender athletes uncertain in WA following executive order (The Seattle Times) $
• COLUMN: Washington superintendent Chris Reykdal declares war on female athletes (Jason Rantz/MyNorthwest)

STATE GOVERNMENT

• Gov. Ferguson, AG Brown and lawmakers are up for pay raises. How much will they make? (The News Tribune) $
• Over $300 million in federal funds frozen in Washington State amidst political battle (KIRO TV)
• Federal funding freeze results in $53M for WA Dept. of Ecology funding halted (The Center Square)
• OPINION: WA’s financial reserves essential for state sovereignty (Mike Pellicciotti, Washington’s State Treasurer/The Seattle Times) $

TRANSPORTATION

• Washington legislation could put speed limiting devices on cars of habitual speeders (KAPP/KVEW)
• Cracking down on the car-tab break for “classic” cars (The Washington Observer) $
• WSDOT begins rollout of Work Zone Speed Camera Program in WA (FOX 13)
• WA driver and vehicle licensing system to shut down for maintenance (The Seattle Times) $
• $71 million program for EV charging stations in Eastern Washington suspended after Federal memo (The Spokesman-Review) $

WILDFIRE PREVENTION & RESPONSE

• Officials: WA loses access to $200M in wildfire preparedness funding (The Seattle Times) $

WILDLIFE

• WDFW accepting public comment on new hunting rules and regulations, feeding ban (The Chronicle)
• Statewide bans on baiting, feeding wildlife proposed to help fight CWD (The Spokesman-Review) $

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